6
Nail the throttle and the rear
end squats as the front fenders
climb skyward; hit the brakes
(single-lever for all four wheels,
with a separate rear foot brake)
and the process is reversed, with
dramatic dive. Watch a Stadium
Super Trucks race and you’ll get
an idea of the Scrambler’s han-
dling dynamics. It’s a snorting,
bucking bronco that ultimately
delivers an incredibly smooth
ride and shrugs off f linch-worthy
impacts. And the 55-inch width
(about four inches wider than the
more utility-minded Sportsman
XP 1000) gives the Scrambler
reassuring stability when you’re
powering out of a corner.
The Scrambler offers two
throttle modes: standard and
performance. Why would you buy
a machine like this and use any-
thing less than the full-ruthless
throttle setting? Because the
952-cc twin puts out 89 horse-
power, and the less aggressive
mode is actually useful if you’re
on a trail or negotiating close
quarters where you don’t want to
warp to 60 mph at a brush of the
throttle. But when you do find
enough runway to enjoy wide-
open throttle, the Scrambler is
a loony rush. Even in all-wheel-
drive mode, it accelerates so hard
that the tires struggle for grip, the
machine squirming and dancing
as it blitzes more or less straight
ahead. It feels like the 27-inch-
tall tires are ballooning from
centrifugal force, like a Top Fuel
dragster’s, and maybe they are.
Put it in two-wheel-drive mode to
disable that beefy front diff (bor-
rowed from the RZR XP 1000)
and the Scrambler feels like it
could drift the perimeter of the
Glamis dunes. Engage low-range
AWD and the Scrambler could
probably handle some serious
rock climbing, but that doesn’t
seem like its primary objective.Rad Power Bikes’ least-expen-
sive e-bike ($1,299), a 750-watt
two-passenger step-through, offers at least 25 miles of range and a 20 mph top speed. The
Bafang hub motor might need some help from the pedals when you’re heading uphill at any-
thing near the 300-pound load limit, but on flat roads you can twist the throttle and ride it
like a silent moped. A headlight, taillight, and dual-leg kickstand are standard, but there are
plenty of optional accessories, too. The $99 passenger package is a must unless you’re a bike
courier, and the 12-liter center console (also $99) turns the RadRunner into a capable machine
for urban beer runs. Semi-fat all-terrain Kenda tires, developed specifically for this bike, are
happy to hit the dirt, too. If you’ve ever dreamed of making your commute on an electrified
version of a two-up ’80s minibike, this is your ride.The Modernized Minibike
No, this is a machine for drop-
ping into a dry wash at 65 mph
and going wherever it takes
you, as quickly as possible. The
Scrambler is a new kind of sport
quad, one that’s optimized for
big spaces rather than motocross
tracks or tight forest trails. It is
actually a lot like a Raptor—not
the Yamaha, but the Ford one.
Wide, powerful, with overkill
suspension, this Polaris would
be the perfect ATV complement
to Ford’s desert-racer pickup. If
only it would fit in the back.BASE PRICE
$14,999MAKE⁄MODEL
POLARIS SCRAMBLER
XP 1000 SHORSEPOWER 89
WEIGHT
881 lb dryENGINE
952cc
DRIVE TYPE
AWD/2WD22 December 2019
COURTESYPOLARIS(SCRAMBLER);^ COURTESY^ RADPOWER^ BIKES^ (RADRUNNER)